Labor
‘Full steam ahead:’ U.S. official from Mingo County works to protect coal miners from black lung
This Labor Day, as a new federal rule is being rolled out to prevent deadly black lung disease in miners, Christopher Williamson is remembering the coal miners who fought for the creation of his agency and who weren’t afforded the protections that current and future workers hopefully will. Williamson, assistant secretary for the U.S. Mine […]
Feds: Justice coal companies have no defense against move to hold them in contempt
Federal attorneys asking a court to hold 23 of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s family-owned coal companies in contempt for nonpayment of health and safety fines entered a filing this week saying the companies shouldn’t have entered into a payment plan if they knew they couldn’t honor it. The filing, entered Tuesday in the U.S. […]
UAW files federal labor charges against Trump and Elon Musk?
The United Auto Workers Union (UAW) announced Tuesday that it has filed federal charges against former President Donald Trump and Tesla founder Elon Musk saying the pair illegally threatened and intimidated workers. The remarks the UAW is concerned with stem from a Monday night discussion where Musk, a vocal supporter of Trump, held a two-hour […]
Breaking the Stigma: Postpartum depression is lonely. Shame, guilt make it worse.?
This story discusses postpartum depression and suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.? Before having children, Chan Kemper pictured how the experience would go.? “I was determined to have the hippiest, dippiest, crunchy, earth goddess pregnancies and deliveries that I could […]
Deaths of 2 Kentucky workers demolishing coal-prep plant bring $31,500 fine for safety violations
On a cool evening in late October, David Peyton heard a pop then a warning scream to get out. Within seconds two men were trapped under 11 stories of steel and concrete. Peyton ran to where Alvin Nees and Billy Joe “Bo” Daniels were trapped in the collapsed Pontiki/Excel coal preparation plant in Martin County. […]
Workers at Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama reject union after months-long campaign
Workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Alabama, voted Friday to reject a union after a months-long campaign to organize the plant. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which oversaw the election, said 2,045 workers (44%) voted for the union, while 2,642 workers (56%) voted against it. The results, the first setback for organized labor […]
Mine safety advocates agree new silica dust rule is progress, but some worry it’s not enough
It was a celebratory moment years in the making when acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, flanked by miners and advocates, announced the rollout of a new rule limiting silica dust exposure for miners in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, last week. For years, advocates for mine safety had urged the federal government to adopt strict rules around the […]
Volkswagen workers in Tennessee vote to join union
After the United Auto Workers (UAW) won big contracts last year resulting from its stand-up strike against the Detroit Three — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — President Shawn Fain vowed that the union would take that momentum into organizing foreign auto companies in the U.S. On Friday night, the UAW scored its first victory […]
Government transparency decisions await Kentucky lawmakers when they reconvene Friday
FRANKFORT — A bill that open government advocates warn would introduce loopholes into Kentucky’s open records law could make its way to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk when lawmakers return to Frankfort later this week.? The final two days of the 60-day regular session — Friday and Monday — are set aside to consider gubernatorial […]
UAW says majority of Alabama Mercedes workers signal support for union
The United Auto Workers said Tuesday that more than half of the workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance had signed union cards, another milestone in an organization drive with significant symbolic importance. “We haven’t taken this step lightly,” Jeremy Kimbrell, a longtime worker and union supporter at the plant, said in a statement released […]
UAW, Ford reach agreement in Louisville averting possible strike
The United Auto Workers and Ford have reached a tentative local agreement in Louisville, the UAW announced Wednesday. “After months of negotiations over local issues, UAW Local 862 has reached a tentative local agreement with Ford Motor Co., averting a potential strike this week” at the Kentucky Truck Plant, the union said in a release. […]
UAW President Shawn Fain touts solidarity as Kentucky AFL-CIO prepares to choose a new leader
LEXINGTON —? United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain told Kentucky union members Monday night that the working class is fed up with “being left behind” and called on labor to challenge massive income disparity and “the billionaire class.” “The one equalizer in all this is organized labor, and we have an obligation to humanity to […]